Unlike anything else

And just like that, K-dramas reach a whole new level.
Twenty Five Twenty One feels like a new step for the Korean drama industry in terms of quality and complexity within the romance genre. It is superbly written and acted, and those are the two pillars that the drama depends on.
It is also a very mature take on young romance and life in general, which makes for an ending that will leave a lot of people upset, but hopefully not mad. To me, it represents a new era of complexity in K-dramas that is fresh and exciting, though bittersweet for those of us who like to hope for the nice but predictable happy ending. Either way, Twenty Five Twenty One presents us with an ending that feels like a reflection about life and youth, and the fact that things don't often pan out perfectly. As a fan, I still need some time to make peace with that.
Overall, Kim Tae-ri and Nam Joo-hyuk are absolutely delightful, as well as the rest of the cast. Tae-ri's energy makes not only for a believable teenager but also for a real one. Her comedic timing is perfect and her chemistry with Joo-hyuk is top notch. The scene in which he's dressed in fencing gear with her while tension fills the air around them will always be among my favourite ones in K-dramas.
It's safe to say Tvn did it again.

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Objectively speaking, this isn't that good. I mean, I know I'm supposed to have some suspense of disbelief when watching a time travel drama, but this felt a little not thought out to me. I don't know, I thought the FL was quite annoying and her actions were at least bizarre when thinking about the situation she found herself in. She felt too much like a kid and had little to no critical thinking skills. She's 19! That's not *that* young!
The romance itself was cute at best, but not compelling. The ML was okay, they were sweet. But then again, the choices made were so far-fetched that I couldn't connect with them.
With all that being said, I love time travel plots and how the characters manage to adapt to another time period, so the rating could never be very low lol

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Finally a fresh, less-homophobic take on the body-swap genre

What made me love Mr Queen was how the romance between Cheoljong and the Queen (who isn't really the Queen) crept up on me while watching the show. When I first started it, I didn't think I'd last long because I usually prefer romances. But then... BAM! They took me by surprise and it was delightful!
Never had I watched a K-drama that had dared this much in relation to gender and sexuality, so I immediately fell in love with the drama.
However, it didn't come without its' flaws.
I didn't expect a happy ending. Eventually, Hwan Bong would have to leave everything and everyone behind, of course. And that's just what happened.
The expected "no-homo"ness of it all resulted in an ending where they try to trick you into thinking it was a happy one. I'd prefer to think that the interactions between Cheoljong and the Queen with Hwan Bong in her body were all genuine, it makes the story much more interesting and powerful. You can't just sit there and tell me that it wasn't all real and that Cheoljong fell in love with the Queen, actually. Not only that, but that Hwan Bong's feelings for Cheoljong only came from the Queen's soul that lived inside her body.
Still, it felt like the creators pushed for it, but I bet they couldn't make the ending a more satisfactory one due to censoring reasons.
The ending had to be at least bittersweet for it to work (considering that Hwan Bong *had* to go back), but I wish the bond between Hwan Bong and Cheoljong had been spelled out better for the viewer and recognised for what it was.

Besides that, I have to congratulate Shin Hye-sun for her portrayal of the Queen, this is by far the best performance I've ever seen in a drama. She ate and left no crumbs. I also enjoyed Jung Hyun Kim as the male lead, I really like despite of all the controversies lol.

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This is what finally made me get the appeal of Lee Dong Wook and I don't know what that says about me as a person. Either way, he made this drama for me. So, I am one of the people who think this drama went a little too slow with the narrative in the beginning. Sometimes, it felt like it was just walking circles while I wished to see more of the main character's interactions with Dong Wook's character.
I feel like this drama could have gone for *more*. Not on gore or violence, but they could have had even more fun with the concept (which is already very fun).
The acting was overall great from everyone, the production design was also very well done.
One thing I couldn't get behind was the main character's girlfriend, but those may have been cultural differences from my part. I just don't understand how any loving person would let their partner live in a place like that lol.
The drama was fun, especially by the end. In a perfect world it would have been as overtly homoerotic as Hannibal, but we can't have it all.

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A SERVE through and through

At its' core, Hometown Cha Cha Cha is about men being men: doing hard labour and being in love with a sometimes mean woman.

When I talk about chemistry between the leads, this is what I mean!

This slice-of-life drama that feels so genuine and realistic that it's hard not to connect with the characters. There's something about Du-sik that I just can't pinpoint, but he's my favorite ML of all dramas. I absolutely loved the progress of their relationship, it was sooo rewarding when they just admitted their love and went from pretending to hate each other to being the most cutesy couple.
HCCC's only flaw is the divorce subplot, which no one watching cared about lol.
Either way, I now have brand new relationship goals (how tacky, I know) in my life.

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I should have loved this

I wanted to love this. When I came across it on Netflix right after watching Hometown Cha Cha Cha, I thought it would be the perfect substitute with similar vibes. I was wrong.
I know Our Beloved Summer is a well-made drama. I can see it through the acting, structure, story and other characteristics. However, I couldn't help but feel disengaged by it. I wanted to fall in love with the story really badly, but I was left hanging. I don't really blame the drama, I think this is on me. To each their own.
I love Choi Woo-shik and he was really good in this.
But yeah, overall, I wish I had loved this like everybody else.

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